Intervention of Gods in Iliad

Intervention of the Gods and Goddesses in the Trojan War In the epic Iliad by Homer the Trojans and Achaeans are locked in a massive war over the princess Helena. During the war between the Trojans and Achaeans, the gods intervene and change the outcome of different battles. The majority of the interventions were to turn the tide of a battle toward the army the god or gods liked best. Another reason the gods would intervene is to protect an important hero in potential danger and the god who favored that hero would grant him special abilities or whisk out of harm’s way. The final way the gods intervene is not by force but by persuasion and trickery. During the war a few gods stand out because they constantly intervene in the battles to turn the tide in favor of the losing army. The god Apollo is seen on the battlefield fighting in favor of the Trojans, killing large amounts of Greeks with ease. Apollo is also portrayed raining plagued arrows upon the Greek camp to kill them before they reach the battlefield “he hit the Greeks hard, and the troops were falling over dead, the god’s arrows raining down all through the Greek camp”. Because of Apollo’s constant killing of the Greeks on the battlefield they would have had little chance against the Trojans. If it had not been for the goddesses Athena and Hera helping the Greeks on different occasions they would have most likely been dealt a fatal blow. All the gods in Olympus have many favorite sons and heroes who are warriors on both sides in this great battle between the Trojans and Achaeans. There are times in the “Iliad” when these sons and heroes lives become threatened and the god who favors them come down and help them. Usually the god helping the hero either takes him out of the battle or gives him great abilities to kill anyone against him. During a battle Diomedes is injured and prays to Athena for revenge “Athena now gave to Diomedes, Tydeus’ son, the strength and courage...

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On the side of the Greeks are: On the side of the Trojans are:
Athena Aphrodite
Hera Apollo
Poseidon Artemis
Hermes Leto
Zeus tries to stay above the fray and stand for justice and fate. He uses the scales of fate and justice to determine his actions, but he can also be persuaded by personal petitions from the gods. Also look for the gods' role in scenes highlighting their functions. For example:
Oath or swearing scenes: Zeus
Guest friendship or xenia: Zeus
Prophecy: Apollo
Message bearing: Iris or Hermes
Divine Epithets:
Homer does not always refer to characters by their names. He can also refer to them via epithets or nicknames. For example:
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Son of Menoitios = Patroklos
Gerenian horseman = Nestor
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